Utilizing a wide-range of sources, DirtNewz.com staffers are pouring over information as it filters in from the various media outlets. In attempt to provide a concise overview of the Dakar Rally leaders and American contingent of teams, we are working towards providing readers a comprehensive brief updates of this year’s race. Dakar Rally race teams have completed two days of racing and have ferried to the African continent where the race resumes with Stage 3 set for January 2, 2006.

Carlos Sainz, leader after Stage 2

Robby Gordon showing Portugal some American horsepower

Leading the American contingent of racers is 2004 Baja 1000 winner – Mark Miller driving a Volkswagen Touareg. After two stages, Miller is in 11th position early in the race. Miller and his crew are providing up-to-date reports via telephone broadcasts direct from the rally and you can listen to those reports on his website at www.usadakar.com

In 13th position is NASCAR Team Owner/Driver – Robby Gordon, who moved up from the 35th starting position to the top fifteen after only two stages of racing. Gordon is racing a Hummer H3, custom built at his Anaheim, California race shop that is fitted with Toyo Tires Open Country Mud Terrain tires. The Jim Beam sponsored H3 Hummer woed the crowds in Portugal where Gordon exploded the race vehicle off the starting line flying through the air drawing quite a reaction from the Europeans.

In the motorcycle class, KTM rider – Chris Blais is a mere 3 minutes and 59 seconds off the pace of the motorcycle leaders after two stages. Blais sits in 14th position with thousands of kilometers to go before crossing the finish line.

Andy Grider finished in 17th position 4 minutes and 34 seconds off the leader, Ruben Faria, a native of Portugal, riding with the hometown advantage in the first stages of this 2006 Dakar Rally.

Jonah Street finished in 24th position 5 minutes and 44 seconds back of the top rider. Street was called to action by Team Rally Pan American only weeks before the race.

Dakar: Stage 2 Portimao to Malaga

KTM Privateer Faria Wins at Home (Portugal) on Bikes

Volkswagen Sainz Takes Stage 2 in Cars

36th Dakar Stage Victory for Tchaguine - Trucks

Stage 2: Portimao to Malaga
January 1, 2006
Connection 65 km - Special 115 km - Connection 387 km
Total 567 km

The ridges of Algarve:

A special of over 100 kms in Europe: another first. On this fast and mountainous track, the thrill of riding and driving and the beauty of the site sometimes remind us of the famous Pikes Peak rise in Colorado. After a special fought out against a backdrop of true wonder, Spain will just be a 400-km liaison through to the landing stage in Malaga, for racing competitors only. The crossing lasts seven hours.

General:

The drivers that impressed during the first stage will certainly be at ease on the Algarve hill crests. While special successes aren't a priority for Cyril Despres, Carlos Sainz could well triumph for a second consecutive time. But Carlos Sousa, supported by 200 000 Portuguese fans yesterday won't want to leave his country without a stage victory.

09:15 - Stage 2: Portimao - Malaga
For the first on European soil the Dakar will host a special of more than 100kms. Like yesterday, driving skills required for a good result should be close to those of WRC driver. Indeed, navigation won't be that important on the day. The average speed of the vehicles should increase as the tracks should certainly be less muddy. 80% of the course will be situated on mountainous roads and the rain that hit the area a few days ago is no longer a problem according to the opening team.

Bikes:

11:27 - Faria wins at home
Portugal Ruben Faria who had captured second spot yesterday, managed the fastest time of today's special. On the 115km course of Stage 2 between Portimao and Malaga, the Portuguese clock a final time 1h37'07. A Great moment for the KTM privateer who beat official KTM-Gauloise rider Isidre Esteve by 1'07. Third went to another member of the blue team, David Casteu, at 1'28. Yesterday's stage winner Cyril Despres finished way behind loosing 3'38

Bike Quotes:

Ruben Faria (POR,SPEDakar,1st) :
"This is a child's dream to win a stage at Le Dakar. It was pretty tough today because I couldn't use the disc brake pad at the back of my motobike. On the other hand, I knew very well the course because I live in the region and lots of people supported me. Now is the time for a new story in Africa. I don't know the desert, I don't even know how to use GPS. I want to learn and reach my goal : Dakar".

Marc Coma (ESP - KTM - 5th)
"These two first stages were not very difficult but full of traps. I had to remain focused on what I had to do. But it was good. The bike and the team are both OK. In fact, for us, the race has started yet. We arrive in Africa in good conditions. That was the most important for us. Now I am very looking forward to being there and at last starting the race".

Isidre Esteve Pujol (SPA - KTM -- 2nd)
"The track was a real ice-skating rink today. So I couldn't ride as fast as I wished. But it was an enjoyable stage. Actually, these two first stages in Portugal were very pleasant. There were a lot of fans, the people were very welcoming in a good atmosphere. But of course, the real Dakar has not started yet".
Helder Rodrigues (POR - YAM -- 4th)

"Like yesterday, today's stage was very technically demanding. And according to these changing conditions, I didn't know how fast I could ride. I am happy since I managed to keep cool. Actually, I was so happy about my 4th place yesterday that I couldn't believe it. So you can guess how great it is for me to finish 4th once again".
David Casteu (FRA - KTM Gauloises, 3rd)

"I had a great fun with my new KTM motobike. I was so motivated to be able to catch up with David Fretigne during the stage, I could see him driving. Being in a pro team changes a lot, everything is prepared for you. I look forward to riding in Africa and getting back to the bivouac at night. It is such a magic place for friendship ".

Car:

12:48 - Sainz does it again
After winning his first special on a Dakar for his first ever stage yesterday, Carlos Sainz (Volkswagen) confirmed that when it came to European stages, he was the man to beat. The Spaniard clocked a provisional fastest time of 1h34'28" beating Mitsubishi's Luc Alphand by 25". The French runner-up of last year's event this time beat his team mate Nani Roma, third on the day. Bruno Saby in his Volkswagen was fourth just ahead of national hero Carlos Sousa. Only eight cars have so far made it to the finish.

12:59 - Al Attiyah third so far
BMW's Nasser Al Attiyah, driving a X3 managed an excellent third spot so far only 27" adrift. Fourth is now Hiroshi Masuoka in his Pajero. Title holder Stephane Peterhansel (Mitsubishi) again suffered a puncture but managed 6th position, 2'25" adrift.

Car Quotes:

Carlos Sainz (SPA - VW - 1st)
"Everything went fine today, I had even more pleasure than yesterday on the course. As for me, it's not that perfect to have the leadership before joining Africa. I'm still waiting for the desert to know what I can really do over there".

Luc Alphand (FRA - MIT -- 2nd)
"That was a fantastic WRC stage, the pace was much higher than usual in the Dakar and I was a bit worried about the cliffs on the side of the course. Since our car has been made for the desert, Portugal was not the perfect ground for us but I did quite well in these two stages. As for me, my goal in Portugal was to stay in touch with the front-runners".

Nani Roma (ESP - Mitsubishi -- 3ème)
"The stage was quite difficult but I really enjoyed myself today. It was a real pleasure even if we made a few little mistakes since the car was not built for this kind of course, with that much mud. Actually we will really be much better in the desert. It was quite fun here in Portugal, but the really serious things will start tomorrow in Africa.

Simon Jean-Joseph (FRA - MER - 1st Production)
"Honestly it was not a very good day for me. I had many problems with my gear box. It was blocked and I had to stop. So I lost a bit of time. But the most important thing is that I really enjoyed myself driving on a beautiful stage. It was very important for me since I still need time to get perfectly used to the car. What's more, except for this gear box problem, the car didn't suffer too much. And that's good."

Nasser Al Attiyah (QAT - BMW -- 3rd)
"I am very happy. The car is great even if it is a bit too big for the kind of course we had on these first two stages. That's why I really focused on driving very safely. But we were good today. We overtook Schlesser and many other cars. It looked a bit like WRC and I loved it".

Nasser Al Attiyah ( QAT - Xraid-BMW -- 3ème)
"I am very happy. The car is great even if it is a bit too big for the kind of course we had on these first two stages. That's why I really focused on driving very safely. But we were good today. We overtook Schlesser and many other cars. It looked a bit like WRC and I loved it.

Hiroshi Masuoka (JAP, Mitsubishi, 4th)
"That was a great stage with winding and muddy roads and cleffs. We drove very fast today which wasn't my first option at the beginning of Le Dakar 2006. It was like a rally stage not a classical Dakar stage because we were all motivated to test our cars".

Truck:

16:24 - 36th victory for Tchaguine
The truck race saw Vladimir Tchaguine (KAM -- n508) clinch his second consecutive stage in this 2006 Dakar and his fourth straight success after winning the last two specials of last year's event. The Russian who now has 36 stage victories under the belt beat Andre De Azevedo (TAT -- n513) by 1'30" and Miki Biasion (IVE -- n512) by 4'30. But the race only saw a few trucks make it to the finish line. Indeed Tomas Tomecek (TAT -- n518) suffered a major crash and his big Tatra blocked the path to all the following trucks. The unlucky competitors behind the Czech vehicle will all be given a same time.

19:03 - 2h17'50'': official time granted to all the remaining competitors
The stage has been almost blocked by Oliveras'truck which had capsized at kilometer 45,7. Then Tomecek also capsized at kilometer 47,530 and definetly blocked the way. As a result, only the first eight competitors have been classified according to their real time. The officials have decided to grant the time of 2h17'50'' clocked by Giacomo Vismara to all the remaining truck competitors behind the Czech truck.

North American Teams Updates as available:

Robby Gordon Quotes & Update after Stage 2:
"I'm on a ferry crossing over from Europe to Africa. All systems with the H3 are good. The truck is performing flawlessly. The roads on the stage today were tight and narrow. The smaller vehicles definitely have had an advantage. Stage one and two have been more like a World Rally race but that's going to change when we get to the full throttle terrain in Africa. We came to Dakar knowing this race is neither won nor lost in Europe.

We are gauging our performance off Stephane Peterhansel who has won this event the past two years. Right now we are a minute and forty two seconds back of him and by no means out of this race. As long as we are in touch with the leaders we are going to have a shot. Right now we are just plugging along with no real dramas."

Vanguard Racing Update after Stage 2:
"Bivouac Sets Sail from Malaga to Nador to for Stage 3"

Stage 2 of the Dakar took Vanguard Racing over a course featuring two liaisons (paved roads which leads to and from the off-road, time trial portion of the course) and one special (off-road terrain) of 115 kilometers. In total the Stage 2 course was over 567 kilometers. The off-road special featured mountainous terrain similar to Pikes Peak in Colorado.

Weather conditions were superb with sunny skies. The roads still muddy from previous days of rain were not near the factor they were in Stage 1. The terrain was hilly with tight turns and shear drops on the outside of the turns. Bailey's strategy for the day was to slow down to avoid driving mishaps that cost him time on Stage 1 and put the car at risk.

The off-road terrain took Bailey and Navigator Herve Cotel 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 50 seconds to complete. The car sustained damage to the suspension system. The failure made the car unstable on turns and the suspension would bottom out on uneven road conditions. According to Bailey, "It forced me to slow down more than I had planned. I also lost my distance reading on my trip master, which is used to help navigate the course. Fortunately I was able to navigate visually. It would have been a big problem had we had been out in the open desert. The two failures hurt our standings. I'm a little disappointed. The special in Stage 3 is in Morocco which is similar to the Baja where I train, I hopeful that I can improve our performance. It was a long day. We arrive at the docks in Malaga just 60 seconds before our deadline."

Top 25 Cars after Stage 2

Pos Num Drivers Nat Make/Model Team Time Gap to 1st Penalties
1. 307 Sainz, Schulz E Volkswagen Touareg Volkswagen Motorsport 2:30:48 0:00:00
2. 302 Alphand, Picard F Mitsubishi Pajero Mitsubishi Ralliart 2:34:33 0:03:45
3. 304 Roma, Magne E Mitsubishi Pajero Mitsubishi Ralliart 2:35:02 0:04:14
4. 301 Saby, Perin F Volkswagen Touareg Volkswagen Motorsport 2:35:10 0:04:22
5. 311 Sousa, Lurquin P Nissan Navarra Team Galp Energia 2:35:20 0:04:32
6. 306 Masuoka, Maimon J Mitsubishi Pajero Mitsubishi Ralliart 2:36:23 0:05:35
7. 303 Kleinschmidt, Pons D Volkswagen Touareg Volkswagen Motorsport 2:36:37 0:05:49
8. 308 Al Attiyah, Guehennec QA BMW X3 CC X-Raid 2:37:30 0:06:42
9. 300 Peterhansel, Cottret F Mitsubishi Pajero Mitsubishi Ralliart 2:37:35 0:06:47
10. 322 Chicherit, Baumel F BMW X3 CC X-Raid 2:37:35 0:06:47
11. 309 Miller, Von USA Volkswagen Touareg Volkswagen Motorsport 2:37:40 0:06:52
12. 305 De Villiers, Thorner ZA Volkswagen Touareg Volkswagen Motorsport 2:38:41 0:07:53
13. 323 Holowczyc, Fortin PL Nissan Pick Up Nissan Dessoude 2:39:13 0:08:25
14. 335 Gordon, Skilton USA Hummer H3 Team Gordon 2:39:17 0:08:29
15. 315 Magnaldi, Debron F Schlesser-Ford Raid Schlesser - Ford 2:39:59 0:09:11
16. 314 Schlesser, Borsotto F Schlesser-Ford Raid Schlesser - Ford 2:41:02 0:10:14
17. 386 Blazquez Roura, Salvador E Nissan Pick Up Nissan Motor Espana 2:43:07 0:12:19
18. 325 Mitsuhashi, Dubois J Nissan Pick Up Nissan Dessoude 2:44:07 0:13:19
19. 310 Henrard, De B Volkswagen Buggy Henrard Racing Team 2:44:58 0:14:10
20. 316 Servia, Alcaraz E Schlesser-Ford Raid D Schlesser - Ford 2:45:12 0:14:24
21. 313 Cox, Pitchford ZA BMW X3 CC X-Raid 2:47:28 0:16:40
22. 330 Shinozuka, Di Persio J Nissan Pathfinder R51 Tecnosport-Italia 2:48:17 0:17:29
23. 329 Barbosa, Ramalho P Nissan X-Trail Nissan Dessoude 2:49:21 0:18:33
24. 415 Kahle, Schuenemann D Honda Buggy Fast & Speed 2:50:36 0:19:48
25. 317 Gache, Garcin F SMG Buggy Vanguard/Racing 2:53:15 0:22:27

Top 25 Motorcycles after Stage 2

Pos Num Drivers Nat Make/Model Team Time Gap to 1st Penalties
1. 160 Ruben Faria P KTM 660 Spedakar 1:37:07 0:00:00
2. 3 Isidre Esteve Pujol E KTM 660 Rallye Gauloises KTM France 1:38:14 0:01:07
3. 8 David Casteu F KTM 660 Rallye Gauloises KTM France 1:38:35 0:01:28
4. 55 Helder Rodrigues P Yamaha WR450 Vodafone Banco Cetelem 1:39:07 0:02:00
5. 2 Marc Coma E KTM 660 Rallye KTM Repsol - Red Bull 1:39:15 0:02:08
6. 179 Jose Manuel Pellicer E Burn 179 1:39:35 0:02:28
7. 97 Gerard Farres Guell E Yamaha Yamaha Espana 1:39:59 0:02:52
8. 80 Paulo Goncalves P Honda 80 1:40:14 0:03:07
9. 12 David Fretigne F Yamaha WR450F 2-Trac Yamaha Motor France/Ipo 1:40:35 0:03:28
10. 6 Giovanni Sala I KTM 660 Rallye KTM Repsol - Red Bull 1:40:35 0:03:28
11. 1 Cyril Despres F KTM 660 Rallye Gauloises KTM France 1:40:45 0:03:38
12. 95 Xacob Agra Carrera E Yamaha Yamaha Espana 1:40:51 0:03:44
13. 4 Carlo De Gavardo RCH KTM 660 KTM Repsol - Red Bull 1:40:57 0:03:50
14. 9 Chris Blais USA KTM 660 Rallye Red Bull KTM 1:41:06 0:03:59
15. 161 Nuno Mateus P KTM 660 Spedakar 1:41:08 0:04:01
16. 21 Jordi Viladoms E KTM 660 Rallye Red Bull KTM 1:41:11 0:04:04
17. 23 Andy Grider USA KTM 660 LC4 Red Bull KTM 1:41:41 0:04:34
18. 14 Alain Duclos F KTM KTM - Toni - Togo 1:41:50 0:04:43
19. 15 Frans Verhoeven NL Yamaha WR450F 2-Trac Yamaha NL Dakar Team 1:42:12 0:05:05
20. 128 Rodrigo Amaral P KTM 660 Rallye Sical Adventure Team 1:42:16 0:05:09
21. 85 Thierry Bethys F Honda 450 CRFX 85 1:42:39 0:05:32
22. 60 Jaroslav Katrinak SLO KTM MOL Dakar Team 1:42:40 0:05:33
23. 7 Jean De Azevedo BR KTM 700 Petrobras - Lubrax 1:42:50 0:05:43
24. 42 Jonah Street USA KTM Rally Pan America 1:42:51 0:05:44
25. 20 Michel Marchini F Yamaha WR450F HFP Off Road 1:42:59 0:05:52

Stage One Updates:

SOURCE: Team Dakar USA Press Release
Robby Gordon jump starts Hummer into to 15
Dakar : Team Dakar USA - Leg 1

In what can only be considered a remarkable start to the world's longest and most difficult motorsports event, Robby Gordon and his new “Dakar” Hummer H3 defied the odds of position, weather and terrain to move from 35th to 14th in the opening round of the famed Dakar Rally.

Starting in Lisbon, Portugal the first leg of the grueling event was broken into three distinct stages with the fast, important, timed Special Stage of the 51.5 miles set in the middle of two liaison stages that were run on the major highway between Lisbon and the resort town of Portimao on the southern coast of Portugal. Gordon wowed the Lisbon starting line crowd with an unconventional move on the raised starting platform, where the drivers are introduced to the public. This allows an even 2 minute spacing between the racers in Gordon's competition group. After taking the applause from the appreciative Portuguese fans, Gordon backed down the starting ramp and came over the top with his wheels in the air!

With the rolling green Portuguese country-side severely soaked from several days of rain, four-wheel drive German and Japanese marques were expected to have a huge advantage over Gordon's heavier new all-American Hummer H3 which was forced to start in a poor 35th position behind some of the world's greatest rally and North African desert specialists. Few European Dakar fans gave the popular American much chance of gaining on the established stars in this first day, as the competition was piloting the powerful VW and Mitsubishi teams using four-wheel drive. But, as always, Gordon stunned the consensus with a brilliant start and then settled into a calm and steady drive that saw his time of 1 hour and 59 seconds end up only 4 minutes and 39 seconds behind the stage's top finishing Carlos Sainz, the retired WRC champion from Spain. Sainz, who was driving for VW, was almost beaten by the popular Portuguese driver, Carlos Souza, in a Nissan who finished just 1 minute and 30 seconds behind the Spaniard.

By the time Gordon reached the most difficult sections of the special stage the mostly single lane dirt roads had been so badly chewed that the Hummer was often running in deep to sloppy mud. Gordon credited most of the day's success to his absolutely stock, production, Toyo tires which enabled him to overcome the poor conditions. “Today's run was good”, said a calm and focused Gordon at the race's impound area near the finish line. By the rules, hardly any time was given by the race officials for repairs before the cars were locked up for the night, so Gordon's crew used the remaining minutes to wipe off the mud and clean the windshield in preparation for tomorrow's expected, even-wetter second stage, which will end in Malaga, Spain, where all the cars will be loaded on ferries and shipped across the Mediterranean Sea to Nador on the northern coast of Africa.

“The Hummer ran perfectly so we can run tomorrow morning's second stage with no time subtracted to work on the car before we really get moving. If all goes well I think we'll be in the top 10 by the time we reach the end of the third stage in Morocco and that's just where I want to be for the long hauls across the desert.”

Gordon's “Dakar” Hummer H3 was specially designed and built by Gordon and his team of ace mechanics in his Anaheim, CA race shop with the specific intention of winning the Dakar. “We've received tremendous support from Hummer, Jim Beam and Toyo tires to make this happen and I believe we're going to surprise a lot of our European fans with this car's performance. Most Dakar competitors and race fans have never seen anything like this Hummer”, said Gordon, “as they tend to concentrate on smaller, high-revving engines, which I don't believe have as good of a chance of success in North Africa's huge sand dunes as my V8-engined Hummer.”

Check these American team websites for the latest updates posted by team members.

9 Chris Blais – blaisracing.com
23 Andy Grider - griderracing.com
42 Jonah Street - rallypanam.com
98 Mike Krynock - rallypanam.com
99 Charlie Rauseo - rallypanam.com
180 Kevin Heath - KevinsMidLifeCrisis.com
242 Scott Whitney / Duane McDowell - HogWildRacing.com
309 Mark Miller - Mark Miller – USADakar.com
335 Robby Gordon / Darren Skilton - robbygordon.com
354 Ronn Bailey / Herve Cotel - vanguardracing.com